Machine for use in making shoe uppers



Feb. 24,1925. 1,5225% 'A. W. DONQVAN MACHINE FOR USE IN MAKING SHOE UPPERS Filed Nov. 22, 1921 f ,4

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Patented Feb. 24, 1925.

rum-Ten STATES @PATJESNT MAC INE FOR-USE 11v ivmnmefsiron arenas.

Application filed November 22, :1921.= nserialili o..516,9 78.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that" I, Anni-um l/V. DonoiVAN, L CitlZ6I1 of the United States, residing at Rockland, in the county: of Plymouth {and a State of Massachusetts, haveinvented cerutainlnew and useful: Improvements in Machinesrfor .Use in Making. Shoe Uppers, of which the .following .is aspecification.

This inventiontrelates to .the -manufac- 1o. ture of :boots ands'hoes and it has for its ohjectto enable shoe manufacturers to proand better appearing,

duce better fitting shoe uppers than heretofore.

fleretoiore, the methods and means'em ployed in assembling andwshapingthe outside ofithe,topqandthelining of shoe up. pers: did. not insure aacorrectshape and lit so far as thepropcr relative: positioning; or

'iitting of. those parts together vwas iconcorned, and as a result either the lining orthe outside of the upper frequently presented wrinkled and mis-sh-apen ,ap'pean 'ance in use. 11Moreover, the improper assemblingiand uniting of the top andllining :characteristic of the methods and means ,heretofore employed not only prevented g-propeniitting of .the vamp to the top but also prevented the proper fitting of both .thehlining and outside of the finished upper to the last.

lyly invention aims to obviate these objectionahle features and to make it possible to conyeniently, expeditiously and correctly aesemblegand-shape shoe "tops and linings Figure 1 is a side elevation of my new machine for use. in making boot and shoe uppers.

1 Figure 2 isa front elevation ofthe machine shown in Fig. 1.

Eigure 3 isa perspective Viewof a partially completed shoe upper.

5 Figure tshowsp'in sideelevation the two hmoldingmembers hereinafter ,.referred to vamp thereto.

so that they may beaccurately fitted, -one or shoe upper, said machine having the with: a partiallycompleted lshoe upper in position upon the male molding member. Figure 5 is a ,zt'ront elevation of the'jparts shown in Figure 4.

a ;.Figure .6, is enlarged. detail of the upper portion of {F igure :5.

Having reference to the .adrawings, sparaticularlyiEig-ufi 1 represents .a'ishoe lining, 2, 2;the side facing strips, 3 the, top iacing stripiandmhthe top, thelining usually bejing made oiitextile ?fabric and the facing pieces and top ;.of leather. The usual practice, heretofore, has been to assemble these parts upon a flatsurface such asatheptop of a table and to secure them togetheri-while ,injthis ,fiat condition with the result=that the-parts were inaccuratelypositioned relatively sothat when the two sides of the upper *were ,bent around, alongside of each otherwas in Fig MSpthe Iin-ing upon the; infsidewould be buckled and wrinkled and act to sohdistort the. top as to make it impossible. to properly ,attach the quarter and Consequently, either thecompleted upper wouldnotproperlyconform to the last and .would he irregular and-moreor less out i of shape orthe lining upon the inside would be wrinkled and uncomi'ortable to the Wearer of the shoe.

In proceeding-in accordanceywith my in ventionthe side facing strips 2 are fastened to,the lini-ng land then, the lining is bent around a V-shaped form 5 with the middle,

or .middle seam, of said lining extending galeng the ridge or apex thereof as shown in and 5; and 6,;a f-ter which said ,liningissmoothed outby hand strokes and pressure or otherwise so as to remove all wr nkles. The top 41s next placed in lts proper ,position upon the linin while the latterremains upon form 5 and is smoothed out by hand strokes and pressure,or otherwise, said top being secured to said lining .by cement applied to one or the other, or hoth of said parts previous to theapplication of said top to the lining, and'being pressechfirmly into position against the latter.

It is ,nnnecessary. to employ cement throughout the area of the innerwside of top' 4;.but it is desirable that it be used near the; ends ofthetop andparticularly between :the 'back portion of the top and theba'ck portion of the lining to secure said parts together at that place so that during subsequent handling the rear portions of said parts retain their bent shape and do not become separated or wrinkled.

After assembling the parts upon the V- shaped form 5 as above described a V-shaped iron preferably heated, is applied to the rear portion of the partly constructed upper to fit the lining and top snugly around and against the apex of form 5 and to set the adjacent cement that is between the top and lining.

The machine herein shown which may be used in practising the above described method comprises a stand or frame 7 provided at its top with a laterally extending arm 8 made at its outer end with a socket 9 to receive the shank 10 of iron 6, said shank being secured rigidly within said socket by means of a set screw 11. Beneath the arm 8 is another laterally extending arm 12, within which is slidably mounted the stem or shank 13 of form 5. The lower end of stem or shank 13 is pivotally connected as at 1 1 to one arm of a lever 15 fulcrumed at 16 on arm 12. The other arm of lever 15 is connected by a link 17 with a foot treadle 18 fulcrumed at 19 on standard 7. A spring 20 connected at one end to lever 18 and at its opposite end to standard 7 normally holds foot treadle 18 elevated with form 5 at the limit of its movement away from iron 6. After the parts of the upper are assembled upon form 5 as above described, the operator depresses treadle 18 thereby lifting form 5 whose apex presses the rear portions of the upper into the female V-shaped iron 6 causing the latter to wipe against and fit the parts of the upper closely around the apex of form 5.

Tn order to heat the iron 6 I construct the latter with electric heaters 21, 21 adapted to be connected with a source of electric current by wires 22.

After permit-ting the form 5 to remain within the iron 6 the necessary or desired length of time, the operator removes his foot from the treadle and spring 20 restores the form 5 to its lowermost position again.

.Vhen the top and lining are removed from the machine they are positioned relatively and shaped practically the same, particularly at the rear of the upper, as when the shoe is completed so that in the completed shoe both the lining and outside of the top are smooth and free of wrinkles or other distortions.

The member 5 is made as a hollow casting. The outer inclined walls of which are made with air ducts or ports 23 as shown in Figures 4 and 5. At one end the interior compartment of form 5 is connected by a flexible hose 24 with the inlet of a blower or air pump 25 and when the machine is in use this air pump or blower 25 is continuously in operation and acts to exhaust the air from the interior of form 5. It will therefore be clear that when the lining is placed in position upon form 5 it is held in position thereon against accidental displacement by air pressure. As shown in Figure 6 the V- shaped recess 26 of presser member 6 is made of such depth or shape that the side walls of this recess contact with the upper upon form 5 before the bottom of the recess engages the upper, thereby preventing contact of the presser member 6 with the back seam or back stay and avoiding undue or injurious pressure upon the latter.

What I claim is:

1. A machine for use in assembling the parts of uppers comprising a frame; an upper supporting and shaping member moveably mounted upon said frame made with rigid work engaging surfaces; an upper stretching and pressing member mounted upon said frame made with rigid work engaging surfaces, and means for moving said first mentioned members toward and from the other member.

2. A machine for use in assembling the parts of uppers comprising a frame; an upper supporting and shaping member moveably mounted upon said frame; an upper stretching and pressing member mounted on said frame in position to co-operate with said first member; means for heating said stretching and pressing member; means for moving said first mentioned member toward and from said stretching and pressing member, and pneumatic means for holding the work in position upon said first mentioned member.

3. A machine for use in assembling the parts of uppers comprising a frame; an upper supporting and shaping member moveably mounted on said frame having substantially the shape of an inverted V an upper stretching and pressing member mounted on said frame above said first member made with a V-shaped recess to receive the top portion of said first member, and means for operating the form member to force the middle portion of the upper into the recess of the presser member.

4. A machine for use in assembling parts of uppers comprising a frame; an upper supporting and shaping member moveably mounted on said frame having substantially the shape of an inverted V and an upper stretching and pressing member mounted on said frame above said first member made with a V-shaped recess to receive the top portion of said first member together with the middle portion of an. upper mounted upon the latter and to engage the upper at each side of the back seam or back stay without engaging the latter, and means for moving one of said giembers toward and from the other mem- 5. A machine for use in assembling the parts of uppers comprising a frame; a hollow upper supporting and shaping member movably mounted on said frame having the shape of an inverted V and made with rigid work engaging surfaces, the outside walls of said member being formed each with a multiplicity of air ducts, an upper stretching and pressing member mounted on said frame above said first member made with a recess to receive the top portion of the form member and having rigid work engaging surfaces; means for exhausting the air from the interior of said first member, and means for moving one of said members toward and from the other member, said stretching and pressing member engaging only the opposite side portions of the upper on said first member.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

ALFRED W. DONOVAN. 

